The history of agricultural
development in Indonesia is a history of the exploitation against farmers, a
history of defeated farmers. First by the feudalistic and colonial forces (the
Dutch and the Japanese) who systematically suppressed the farmers to maintain
their power over them, and later by the Proclamation Republic Government of
Indonesia and the ORBA (New Order) government that took a more pragmatic
approach (placing the farmer as subordinate in a program) but still with the
ultimate goal of maintaining and strengthening their own power. This was
followed by the political parties trying to win votes, by farmers’
organizations hoping to gain a good position, and Non Government Organizations
seeking funds.
Such condition can only be changed if
the farmers themselves are more independent. One of the efforts that has been
quite successful in helping to make farmers more self-supporting is by
encouraging them to be more critical and capable assessing the social and
environment impact of various intervention on their communities and in
understanding and shaping policies and practices related to farmers’ right.
YDA’s experience with ISDP farmers
(Integrated Swamps Development Project, a government project funded by foreign
loan) and KUT (micro credit for farmers) is quite interesting, where
successfully encouraged the farmers to articulate their ideas and criticize the
impacts of the project on their communities. It was indeed very valuable
experience that can now be applied in other regions, of course with the
necessary modifications as the culture and traditions of each regions are
different. One thing is certain: the process of reform that is generally still ongoing in Indonesia, is
clearly not the end of the journey but the beginning of a long process that
must be completed. And in the villages, the actor who plays the leading role
must be the farmer, not the village elite, apparatus, or even the outsiders who
have stepped into the village only to collect its benefit.